A GRADE 28/1 – Moe v CATS
Resuming at 3/62 (29) CATS sat firmly in the box seat. Although the scorecard makes it looks like things finished quickly in terms of wickets & runs, it was a hard slog with 43 overs bowled in just over 2 hours of play (including 3 drinks breaks).
Not out overnight, Josh Keyhoe (19) was first to fall, bowled by Callum Grant at 4/69. Phoenix had the other in Tyler Brown (44) caught behind at 5/87 in the 51st over, still 37 runs required.
Grant bowled Stewart (13) in the 54th at 6/91 and followed it up with Foster (2) in his next over. It became 3 consecutive overs featuring wickets for Grant as he picked up wickets 5 & 6 with McDonald 
& Penrose in consecutive balls to make it 9/95, still requiring 28.
Sam Gissara (13 off 65) & Harry Cooper (2* off 42) batted 14.3 overs for the last wicket, adding 13 runs to make it nervous, but still requiring a further 16 in touch conditions. Gissara survived an earlier caught behind chance off Phoenix at 5 down, then dug in for a long period, before being the last man out at 10/108 and giving Callum Grant 7 wickets to match Callum Stewart’s efforts for CATS a week earlier.
Grant bowled 22 overs for the day with 6/16 to finish with a total of 7/37 off 29. Rob Phoenix was the main act vs Latrobe but roles flipped today as he was Grant’s support, with admirable figures of 1/22 (19) at the other end. Clint Taylor (0/4 off 2 for the day – 0/7 off 9 for the inning) was the only other bowler used on Day 2.
Moe complete a remarkable win, victors by 15 runs.
B Grade 28/1 – Seen Better Days
In Round 6, Moe rolled Thorpdale for 69 but the chase collapsed from 1/42, losing 9/25 to be all out for 67 to hand the Blues a remarkable win. In Round 10, Thorpdale batted first again and lost 6/7 to go from 4/106 to be all out for 113. Moe’s chase started well again, but lost 10/40 to be all out for 84.
Now what would the third meeting bring in Round 15? Could Moe topple the Blues in their third attempt in nine weeks?
Moe won the toss and sent the hosts in as Thorpdale batted first for the third consecutive meeting between the sides.
THORPDALE INNING
Kayne O’Connell & James Durkin opened the batting and the former did the heavy lifting in the 29 run open stand. Aaron Johnstone got the breakthrough with the ball in hand, but not bowling, as he ran out Durkin for 3 in the 9th over.
Unfortunately for the Lions, 1/29 is as good as it got, as O’Connell & Matt Powell put on a Thorpdale club record 2nd wicket stand of 203*. Former Lion, O’Connell made 108* with ten fours and a six. Matt Powell finished on 109* with nine fours and a six. Thorpdale closed on 2/232 from their 45!overs.
Moe Bowling:
A.Johnstone 0/29 (9) – B.Wilson 0/56 (9) – J.Pickering 0/21 (6) – J.Atkinson 0/14 (3) – J.Shields 0/34 (7) – D.Farmer 0/46 (8.) – B.McCartney 0/28 (3)
MOE INNING
Randy Straughair 
was run out without facing a ball in the first over and that set the tone for the run chase. Mark Micallef (9) was also run out, at 2/15. Jarryd Atkinson (9), Ben Jackson (10), Jordan Shields 
& Evan Sheekey (9) all fell in the space of 12 runs to fall from 2/32 to 6/44. Aaron Johnstone (24) was the mainstay until he fell as the last dismissal, losing three partners (Blandford 4, Wilson 3, Pickering 4) along the way. McCartney was not out (2*) as Moe were bowled out for 90 in the 30th over, Thorpdale victors by 142 runs. Mackenzie (3/14 off 4.1), Dron (3/19 off 8.) & Powell 2/15 (6) took the wickets whilst Bradshaw got both the early run outs.
LADDER SUMMARY
Morwell defeated Boolarra to move into the Top 4 at Moe’s expense. It’s a tight ladder as Mirboo North, Morwell & Boolarra sit 2nd to 4th on 26pts and Moe sit just half a game behind in 5th. Centrals likely beat Newborough on incomplete mycricket scores, so will sit one game behind Moe heading into next week’s return double header at Apex Park.
RETURN DOUBLE HEADER NEXT WEEK
B Grade will travel to Centrals for a 9am start followed by C Grade to finish under lights again, commencing at 3.10pm
